Dệt Thổ Cẩm Chăm
The Cham people of south-central Vietnam — the descendants of the ancient Hindu-Buddhist Cham kingdom (2nd–17th century CE) — maintain a textile weaving tradition of extraordinary antiquity that was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List in 2022 under the title 'Practices related to the then and khan of the Cham people.' The then (sarong) and khan (shawl) are woven on a traditional floor loom using natural silk and cotton with supplementary weft patterns drawing from the Cham Hinduized aesthetic vocabulary — flame motifs, tower forms (referencing Cham temple towers), and interlocking geometric patterns. My Nghiep village in Ninh Thuan province is the primary weaving center. The Cham weaving tradition is unique in Vietnam for its Hindu-influenced pattern vocabulary — every other Vietnamese textile tradition draws from Buddhist or Confucian aesthetic references.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Inscribed on UNESCO Representative List 2022 — 'Practices related to the then and khan of the Cham people'
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